


Keeper

by Amythe3lder



Series: Irregular Pieces [31]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Bees, F/M, Jamford, Rare Pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-01
Updated: 2015-06-01
Packaged: 2018-04-02 07:05:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4050745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amythe3lder/pseuds/Amythe3lder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><strong>Prompt: Countryside</strong><br/>In her heart, Janine Hawkins was a city girl.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keeper

**Author's Note:**

> I had these two cuties introduced in chapter 17 of _Happiness Shared_ , but this can be read without prior knowledge. This is taking place six months later, anyway. Enjoy!
> 
> Well I'll follow you wherever  
> When you lead me by my nose  
> On another big adventure, I suppose  
> Then you lay me down in clover  
> With their petals on my back  
> I should make some time  
> To do more things like that  
> "Beautiful Thing"-Sister Hazel

When early summer came to Sussex, she brought Mike Stamford to meet it.

Her cottage was charming and picturesque and all those other descriptors that mostly meant _in the countryside_ , and that was part of the reason she didn’t actually get out here to see it as often as she might prefer. In her heart, Janine Hawkins was a city girl. She had brought herself up on the streets of Dublin and that would always be her home, but now London had a piece of her, too. When she had a mind to draw comparisons, she could admit that there were clear reasons that she felt a kinship. Both cities had been settled by invaders who were eventually absorbed by the locals, each mingled generation wiping away the differences like waves filling in sandy footprints. She wondered if her own descendants would have to wash up after her mistakes, or if that was done now.

They had got in late, and Mike had mused aloud that he’d forgotten that night was so dark as he held his phone so she could unlock the door in the glow from the screen. “Not afraid, are you?” she’d teased, eyes on the keyring.

“Only a little,” he’d admitted, ducking his head and smiling. She’d got him inside and rewarded his honesty. Oh, how she valued that trait and him all the more for possessing it, and she’d made him believe it with her hands and mouth and eyes, gave him a reason to feel safe in the deeper shadows of her room. It was so much easier to satisfy one’s curiosity when the object of your interest simply told you the truth. For that alone, he could have her heart served up any way he liked.

He distracted her from her thoughts in the late morning sunlight by bringing her a cup of coffee, sweetened with sugar and the knowledge that he didn’t really like coffee beyond the occasional need for extra caffeine; it reminded him of desperate all-night study sessions and work after too little sleep. His own mug held tea. He’d fixed coffee because she lived on it and it made her happy. He wouldn’t count it as going out of his way, because while he didn’t care for her choice of beverage, he cared for her.

“You didn’t say you had an apiary,” Mike said, and his tone betrayed an interest that surprised her.

She waved a hand at the far end of the garden as he planted himself beside her on the ground. “I don’t, not really. I always mean to chuck the lot of them, but I haven’t bothered yet. When I get down here, time sort of slows and I never get around to doing anything at all.”

“Sounds nice,” he remarked. “I wish you’d keep the hives, though. My gran had some. Bees don’t take much work once you get started, just check in for diseases and collect the honey in the fall.”

She laughed and retorted, “Oh, and are you going to do it?” then she froze. She hadn’t intended to imply that he’d be sticking around that long. They had both carefully avoided making plans beyond next week, and had passed nearly half a year that way. The serious look that had set in Mike’s features said that he had heard the accidental invitation. The hopeful smile that rearranged the first expression told her she had been the one barring that particular door.

“I’d be happy to,” he offered.

Janine was pretty sure she had a keeper.

**Author's Note:**

> So when I went to post this, I had to create a listing for the pairing in the relationship tag. That's kind of exciting, really.


End file.
